South London, UK · oi! · punk

The Business

1 festival played →

Oi! played straight down the middle — no politics beyond solidarity, no frills beyond the chorus, South London to the bone.

The Business formed in 1979 in Lewisham, south London, by school friends Steve Kent, Micky Fitz, Nick Cunningham and Martin Smith. Under manager Lol Pryor they played their first gig in February 1980 and made their first appearance on record with 'Out in the Cold' on a compilation album, before playing their first Oi! show in 1981 supporting the 4-Skins.

Fronted for most of their history by Fitz, who died of cancer in 2016, the band played terrace-chant punk built on shouted choruses and straightforward riffs, with songs about work, football and street life. Amid the genre's far-right associations, they toured under the title Oi Against Racism and Political Extremism...But Still Against the System, while also taking aim at communists in 'Suburban Rebels'.

Their debut single, 'Harry May', reached number 13 on the UK indie chart in 1981. The original lineup split soon after, with Fitz recruiting new members and recording the number-3 indie hit 'Smash the Discos'. A planned debut album, to be called Loud, Proud, and Punk, was lost when its master tapes went missing; re-recorded, it appeared as Suburban Rebels in 1983.

Label troubles and poor promotion broke the band up soon after, though they reformed more than once through the 1980s, at one point re-recording a studio album with crowd noise dubbed in to pass as live. They reformed again in 1992 to play a benefit concert for the footballer Bobby Moore, continuing in various lineups until Fitz's death. Their songs remain widely covered by later street-punk and hardcore bands.

Read more

oi!punk